


The Warrior and the Wizard

by boredbrooder



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-09-24 07:04:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17096033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boredbrooder/pseuds/boredbrooder
Summary: The Odinsons are on an adventure to fix one of Loki's mistakes.





	The Warrior and the Wizard

**Author's Note:**

> For @sovereignoblivious who requested a story to go with this photo.
> 
> Wow, it’s a long one! It gets a read more line.

“Loki, are you sure this is where you left it?” Thor asked. 

"Earth might be a small planet, but there’s still a lot of it to remember,“ Loki sassed. 

"Remember!” Thor barked. "Where did you leave it?“ 

"There was a large statue of a green woman,” Loki sighed, already bored with their talk.

The two princes had only just arrived, landing in a bright flash of rainbow lights in a small patch of greenery surrounded by busy roads. They quickly abandoned the charred circle in the grass and started looking for a vantage point. It turned out to be a bridge.

Thor’s booming voice caught the attention of a little old woman passing by. Actually, she looked quite frail, with white curls, sunburnt wrinkles, and huge pieces of glass over her eyes.

“Hello, you boys look lost,” she said in a thick New York accent. “I can tell by your outfits that you must be some of those costume players. My grandson gets into that.” She rambled, but the princes didn’t know what she was talking about. They didn’t want to show their ignorance, so they nodded their agreement. At least, Thor nodded. Loki wasn’t so willing to show his ignorance by agreeing or disagreeing.

“Perhaps you can help us,” Thor said, wrinkling his brow and putting on his charming prince’s smile. Loki furrowed his brow, noticing her bedroom slippers and wondering if she was completely cognizant.

“I’ve lived in New York my whole life. I think I help you,” she agreed.

“My brother lost something,” The blond started.

“Left something,” The raven-haired man quickly corrected.

“Where did you leave it?” the woman asked, turning her head as though searching for the other man through her large lenses.

“On an island with a giant green statue of a woman.” Loki donned his own prince’s smile. She may look batty, but she was their only contact on this planet.

“It can’t be that large of a statue if you can’t find it,” Thor grumbled.

“That sounds like the Statue of Liberty,” the woman said happily. She turned to face the opposite side of the bridge the boys had been looking over. In the distance, a large green woman held up a large green torch. “Lady Liberty holds many secrets.”

“Thank you,” Thor said, sounding more hopeful and encouraged than ever. “Your service will not be forgotten.” Thor turned to go as the woman answered.

“My grandson talks strange, too, when he’s in his silly costume.” She pushed her large glasses up her nose and looked at the remaining prince. Thor stopped when he realized the other two were still talking.

“Please, dear Lady. Can you tell us how to get there?” Loki asked in a velvety voice.

“Why, certainly! You can take a trolly. It goes directly to the ferry. And the ferry goes directly to the island.” She smiled broadly and continued her pattering walk. Apparently, she was done helping.

Loki smirked at her receding back. Thor grimaced and gripped his hammer at his side.

“Perhaps I should have mentioned Earth updated its wardrobe since the last time you were here,” Loki purred, turning his smirk to his brother.

“Perhaps,” Thor growled. He finally noticed that many other passersby were staring at them. Cosplayers dropped from one of the mouths.

“How about some camouflage?” Loki didn’t wait for Thor’s consent. In a shimmer of green and gold, both men were dressed in tidy suits. Thor’s was gray with red accents, Loki’s was black with green accents.

Thor shifted uncomfortably in his new attire. His hammer had become a brief case. Those who had been gawking passed on to their business, new passersby paid them no mind. Loki stretched his lips a little wider. 

“Shall we,” he purred. Thor decided their mission was more important than their clothes and walked on next to the wizard.

Thor wasn’t the least bit sure what a trolly was. Loki thought he might have seen one when he was here hiding the object. As they cleared the bridge and started looking around for their next destination, a long maroon and gold vehicle pulled to a stop in front of them. Sure enough, on the side was written the word Trolly. 

The two princes boarded the strange carriage and started looking for seats.

“Excuse me, gentlemen,” said the driver. “you gotta pay.” They looked at each other, exchanging dialogue without speaking. Loki, who had boarded second, turned back toward the front. He placed his hand over a slot on the pay-box. The machine registered two fares paid. The driver thanked him and he joined Thor in the tiny seats he’d found.

“It had better be there,” Thor said quietly as the trolly continued its route.

“I doubt anyone can find it,” Loki rebutted. “But if it’s gone, I can track it.”

“Track it?” Thor questioned.

“Yes. Elvish enchantment leaves a distinct signature and I can follow it.” Loki didn’t like explaining magic to his brother because the older prince had little patience for it. As expected, Thor tutted and looked out the window in annoyance.

“Hiya, you boys must be tourists.” The brothers looked at each other, then at the round-faced boy looking at them from over the seat in front of them.

“Why do you say that?” Thor asked. Loki face-palmed.

“Cause you don’t sound like you’re from Manhattan. Not from the Bronx, either,” the boy rambled.

“Yes, we’re from out of town,” Loki confirmed, then tried to turn his attention away. The boy was not having it.

“You here to see the big lady?” he asked.

“Big lady?” Thor quizzed with a wrinkle in his brow.

“Lady Liberty! All the tourists think they need to see her,” the boy informed. He folded his hands over the top of the seat and put his chin on the backs of them.

“Yes, we’re going to see the Statue of Liberty, or Lady Liberty, as you call her,” Loki said impatiently. “Now, please”–

“Whatcha really wanna see is the gardens!” the boy continued enthusiastically.

“We’ll be sure to do that,” Loki said, growing more impatient.

“Wait, gardens? What gardens?” asked Thor, leaning forward. Loki guessed he was thinking about mother’s gardens. Thor was thinking if the gardens were impressive enough, he might return with mother.

“Madison Square Gardens. You can take the Trolly there, too, but the other direction.” He pointed to the back of the trolly for emphasis. “You gotta buy tickets if you want inside to see a match, though.”

“A match?” Thor asked. What did matches have to do with flowers?

“Yeah, a boxing match? You really are from far out of town, aren’t you?”

“You have no idea,” Loki agreed darkly. The boy only shrugged off Loki’s pensive look.

“Anyway. On Fight Night, the best boxers in town come and beat the s**t out of each other to determine who’s the best,” the boy explained.

“A competition of Earth’s mightiest warriors?” Thor was interested for a whole new reason.

“No, brother,” Loki hissed. If we go and see, you’ll want to participate. If you participate, you’ll break their warriors.”

“You two sure have a strange way of talking,” the boy said with a tsk. “Where you from, anyway?”

“Last stop, folks. Everybody off the trolly,” called the driver. Loki sighed with relief and jumped out of his seat, pulling Thor with so he couldn’t answer the boy’s question. Hopefully, they won’t see that jabber-mouth again.

Standing on the pier, the brothers look around to gather their surroundings.

“Shall we make ourselves conspicuous and ask for help, or shall we follow all these written signs Midgardians are so fond of?” Loki asked sassily. A thick line of people were all moving in the same direction. Thor nodded at them.

“I think we can figure it out for ourselves,” he said. So, they joined the cue.

As they dragged their feet in line through the narrow halls and passages, they saw signs directing people to different locations. Loki maneuvered them through the signs that said Liberty Island. Suddenly, they found themselves quite alone.

“I knew I couldn’t trust you,” Thor snarled as they wandered.

“You think I wanted to end up here?” Loki spat back. They could see the water through the high barred windows, but they didn’t know how to reach it. 

“This is your fault, Loki. It’s all your fault.” The younger prince was used to being blamed for everything. He smiled coyly and prepared to answer when a sound reached their ears, causing the smile to fade. 

The clinking of several tiny metal pieces and the clapping of hard-soled shoes on concrete drew their attention. A short curvy woman rounded the corner. She wore a security hat over her afro and a dark uniform.

“Can I help you gentlemen?” she asked brightly, throwing them a smile to match.

“Yes, thank you, miss,” Loki said in his most velvety tones, also smiling warmly. Thor gave him a stern look that threatened pain, then took over.

“Due to my brother’s incompetence,” Thor glared at Loki, who raised his eyebrows in mock innocence. “We’re lost. We’re trying to find the ferry to the island with the green statue.” The rest of his speech was spoken much gentler to the security lady. She looked confused at the pale-skinned man, then turned her attention to the bossy pink-skinned one.

“That’s easy! You probably walked right past the gate.” The walked past them and motioned for them to follow. They only went two turns back before she motioned to a turnstile. “Just go through there and the dock hands will get you on the right boat. Do you have your tickets?”

Thor’s chest rumbled as he glared at Loki. He was about to speak, but the silver tongue spoke quicker.

“Ah, yes, we do. Thank you ever so much for you kindness and your help.” Loki surprised the young woman by kissing the back of her hand. Not to be outdone, Thor also kissed her hand and thanked her kindly. They left her standing dazed as they entered the sunshine and saw the ferry.

“They call that a boat?” Thor asked uncertainly. 

“Well, it does float, and it moved effectively across the water,” Loki mused.

“Fine. Let’s just get on this boat and find the object.” Thor romped down the dock toward the nearest ferry. A man in green and white stopped him.

“Hi, where ya’ headin’,” he asked in a completely different accent. Perhaps he wasn’t from this region of the planet.

“Liberty Island,” Loki said quickly. They looked out over the water at the looming lady.

“This is your boat, gentlemen,” the dock hand said. “Do you have your tickets?”

“Yes, we do.” Loki raised his hand dramatically and conjured two pieces of paper, which he handed to the young man.

“Oh, hey! Magic! I do that, too,” the man exclaimed. Without warning, he reached up to Thor’s ear and back down again. The giant warrior caught his hand in descent, hard. Startled, the man’s eyes widened and he opened his fist.

“This is not mine,” Thor said. His stern warning face turned into a wrinkle-browed confused face. 

“It’s a quarter,” the man trembled.

“Currency,” Loki whispered in the blond’s ear.

“I do not have any quarters on my person,” Thor informed, releasing the stranger and softening his expression. 

“Right, uh, well, that’s magic for you.” The man rubbed his arm stiffly before pointing at the ferry again. “All aboard, then. Have a good trip.” The two quickly climbed the plank before there were any more disturbances.

The boat pulled away from the dock almost immediately, but the princes were well versed in travel on land, sea, air and space. They walked steadily in the gentle rocking of the craft.

“Sleight of hand,” Loki said dismissively looking at Thor.

“What?” the tall man barked.

“That man on the dock. Misdirection, deception, it isn’t real. He didn’t conjure, create, summon or move anything magically,” Loki explained. “Not what I can do.” As if to prove his point, Loki held up his hands and summoned two casks of ale from his dimensional pocket. He handed one to his distracted brother.

“Thanks,” he said, drinking deeply.

As it turned out, the only places left to sit were on steel benches on the deck of the ferry. They managed to find a spot large enough for the two of them on the end of one such bench. When Thor had finished his ale, he handed the cask back to the wizard, who banished both back to his dimensional pocket.

Loki looked out over the water and allowed the wind to ruffle his hair. Then he turned on the bench and put his back against Thor’s enormous bicep. He stretched out his immensely long legs to put them on the railing, then folded his arms and hung his head on his chest.

“Loki, what are you doing?” Thor asked, shaking his shoulder to make the younger brother uncomfortable.

“It’s over an hour before we get there. I’m doing something productive with my time.” Thor wanted to make a witty retort, but he realized he didn’t have anything to say. It was a rare occurrence that their adventures and missions afforded them extra resting time. He didn’t know what they would face when they got there or how much time and energy the search would use. Perhaps the wizard had a point.

Making up his mind, the warrior carefully moved one leg over the back of the bench. The person next to him glared and tried to scoot farther away. He rolled against Loki from his shoulder to his back so that the brothers were now holding each other up. Thor also folded his arms and laid his chin on his chest.

The wind blew gently. The sun shown brightly. The engines purred and the water lapped and the mortals carried on with their short lives. All was peaceful for the princes for a long while. Until…

Something cold and wet landed on Loki’s hand. Small fingers started rubbing at it. Not wanting to wake, not wanting to break anything accidentally, and not wanting to startle the owner of the small fingers, Loki opened his eyes and looked curiously at who would touch a stranger. It was a small child of maybe six or seven.

“What are you doing?” Loki asked gently.

“You have pale skin like me,” the child stated, still rubbing at the lotion on the back of the god’s hand. “Mama says if I don’t wear sun block, I’ll burn.” Loki sighed. Were humans so weak that they couldn’t even stand up to their own sun? The child broke his thoughts by rubbing some of the lotion on his cheek.

“Stop that,” Loki hissed and shooed the child away. He took the green handkerchief from his breast pocket to wipe at the two spots of lotion.

“Loki, you should not be so harsh. It was only a child,” Thor mumbled sleepily. 

“No matter,” Loki dismissed. He returned the handkerchief to his pocket and leaned his head against Thor’s shoulder. Thor returned the gesture. “Why does father care so much about a trinket?” Loki asked after awhile.

“A trinket?” Thor repeated. “What do you mean?”

“The object, the item, the thing we were sent here to retrieve,” Loki said irritably. “Don’t you know? Didn’t father tell you?” He turned his head as far as he could on Thor’s shoulder and strained his eyes to look at him.

“I didn’t ask,” Thor admitted, also straining to look at Loki. “I thought as long as you knew what we were after…”

“Did you think you were sent along as a babysitter?” Loki snipped. Thor consented with a groan. “You’re probably right,” Loki mused. “He can’t trust me a second time with this.” Thor agreed again.

“So, what is this trinket?” Thor asked. “Something of great worth or power?”

“Hardly,” Loki huffed. “It’s Freya’s favorite necklace.”

“A necklace? Freya the elf queen? Father wanted you to steal the elf queen’s favorite necklace? Is he trying to start a war?” The brothers laughed lightly on each other’s shoulders.

“Anyway, I didn’t see the point in him having it or her losing it, so I hid it from both of them.” Loki concluded his story and a silence fell between them.

Their light slumber was interrupted by a loud horn followed by an invisible voice announcing their arrival. They followed the crowds to exit the ferry and exit the pier. Their journey was drawing to a close, and the brothers felt excitement coursing through them, chasing away the last of the weight of sleep.

“Alright, brother. Take us to it,” Thor demanded when they were cleared of controlled areas.

“First, we’ll have to get clear of these busy thoroughfares,” Loki explained, stepping deliberately off the path and into the grass facing their destination. Thor followed in one large stride of his own, and then the brothers were off at a fast walk, stretching their long legs.

“It’s huge like you said,” Thor commented. “Where exactly is it on the statue?”

“I buried it. It’s under the smallest toe of her right foot.” Loki informed.

“The one you broke and healed yourself when mother was teaching you healing magic?” Thor remembered.

“The very one.” They smiled at each other as they drew near their destination.

The thick stone platform of the Lady Liberty loomed ahead of them. The entire area was surrounded by a thick brick wall, but that didn’t stop the gods. They simply leapt over the tall security line as though it was hopscotch. The main entrance was between her heels, but they avoided it easily. Another large leap landed them on top of the star-shaped platform, then they made their way to the base of the pedestal.

“This is the place,” Loki said. He started doing a sort of strange, stiff dance. He looked up frequently, stepped sideways, back, front, flailed his arms in precise movements.

“Loki, what are you doing?” Thor asked, glancing around to see if anyone could see them. Security personal were likely here if they were at the docks.

“I’m pinpointing the exact brick I buried it under,” Loki explained without stopping his dance. Finally, he knelt down and summoned a dagger. Using it, he pried up a certain brick. There was a hole, but no necklace.

“Loki, what game are you playing?” the warrior growled, preparing Mjolnir for an under hand swing.

“No, it should be here,” Loki said, confused. He banished his dagger and called Seidr to his fingers. Moving his hands around carefully, he felt the presence of elf magic. “It is here!” he corrected tensely.

“It clearly is not,” Thor argued back.

“I can feel it,” the wizard insisted. “I told you it has elf magic. I can feel it!”

Thor shifted awkwardly, hoping against hope his brother was telling the truth. His brother got back down on his knees and started examining the hole more closely.

“Look, little scratch marks. Someone has been here,” Loki observed.

“I thought you said no one could find it,” Thor accused.

“I thought so, too. Apparently, I forgot to consider a very dangerous group in my statement.” He reached his hand into the hole left by the brick, and continued reaching in.

“Loki, what are you talking about? What dangerous group?” Thor asked, looking around as though members of said group were approaching.

“Rodents,” Loki said simply. “Burrowers. This hardy little fellow dug right into the foundations of the pedestal.” As he said he, he pulled out a tiny, furry, four-legged beast. clasped in one tiny paw, the chain of the necklace. “Our prize is won.”

“That’s it?” Thor asked, ignoring the critter as Loki released it and it scurried off.

“Indeed. A pretty little thing, but completely useless.” Loki banished it to his dimensional pocket. “Shall we go then?”

“Yes, I think we’d better.” The brothers moved away from the pedestal, took one last look at the green lady, and took their stances. Thor raised his hammer and a pillar of rainbow light swept them up, leaving a burnt circle on the ground of the platform.


End file.
